Chen Weiping: The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon embodies the five prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization. Peace | The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon | Characteristics
Studying the classic Chinese ancient book "Huangdi Neijing" is of great significance for the construction of modern Chinese civilization. Because the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon highlights the five prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization, namely continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness, and peace.
Continuity
Traditional Chinese medicine has a long history. During the Shang Dynasty, soup was invented, and during the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a division of labor among food doctors, disease doctors, ulcer doctors, and veterinarians. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Bian Que proposed the diagnostic method of "looking, smelling, asking, and cutting".
The Huangdi Neijing, which was born over 2000 years ago, is a summary of previous medical practices. It is named after "Yellow Emperor" and divided into two major parts: "Su Wen" and "Ling Shu". Each article takes the Yellow Emperor's questioning as a guide, indicating that his ideas originated from ancient times.
In the history of world medicine, ancient Egypt created brilliant medical achievements. This can be seen from three medical manuscripts. But since Egypt was conquered by King Alexander the Great of Macedonia, its traditional medicine has been forgotten.
Ancient Indian medicine has rich content, such as the Atha Veda, which records 77 diseases and prescribes corresponding prescriptions. There are also medical masterpieces such as the Shirakapa and Myowen. However, due to the invasion of the Aryans, ancient Indian medicine gradually disappeared.
The medicine of ancient Greece and Rome was once very prosperous, and many theories were proposed, such as Hippocrates' four body fluid theory, Galen's human body theory, Aristotle's Eurygian vitality theory, and the publication of "Pharmacy" and "Encyclopedia of Medicine". However, with the interruption of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, their traditional medicine was either abandoned or lost.
The Chinese nation regards the Yellow Emperor as the ancestor of civilization, and the only scripture named after him that has been passed down to this day and still maintains its vitality is the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. It proves from one side that Chinese civilization is the only uninterrupted indigenous civilization in the world, and has become a prominent symbol of the continuous nature of this civilization.
"Innovation"
Traditional Chinese medicine is an original medical system of the Chinese nation, and the Huangdi Neijing was the earliest and most concentrated expression of this. This originality has originality that other ethnic groups in the world do not have.
In the early lives of our ancestors, medicine and witchcraft were mixed together. The ancient writing style of medicine, "毉", reflects this situation. The "Suwen Wuzang Bielun" states: "Those who are bound by ghosts and gods cannot speak of the highest virtue." There are two interpretations of the "highest virtue" here: the highest medical ethics or the deepest medical theory. Regardless of the interpretation, it indicates that the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon distinguishes medicine from witchcraft. Its release is a significant innovation in breaking through superstitions of witchcraft, ghosts, and gods.
Traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment emphasize individualization. "Looking, smelling, asking, and cutting" refers to collecting different individual information in order to tailor it to each individual. The Huangdi Neijing believes that different individuals have different reactions to the same disease, and different treatment plans need to be developed for different patients. Therefore, every typical medical case is innovative in a certain aspect.
Related to emphasizing the individuality of the patient, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon also places great emphasis on the individual creativity of the physician. According to the "Suwen · Ba Zheng Shen Ming Lun", "The gods are like gods, but the ears do not hear them. The eyes are clear, the heart is open, and the mind is the first. Wisdom is only understood, and the mouth cannot speak. Both see and see alone, and are suitable as if they are unconscious. It is clear that one is alone." The so-called "independent understanding", "independent seeing", and "independent understanding" all emphasize the individual's independent and unique innovation. This has been achieved through long-term clinical practice and dedicated thinking, surpassing knowledge perceived through oral and auditory communication, and becoming wisdom that is understood by the heart.
This is actually the highest level of innovation, achieving a leap from knowledge to wisdom. Traditional Chinese medicine attaches great importance to the compilation and research of famous medical prescriptions from various dynasties, precisely because they gather innovative wisdom.
Unification
In the Tang Dynasty, Lu Deming's "Classic Commentary" explained the meaning of "Jing": "Chang Ye, Fa Ye, Jing Ye." "Jing" is the carrier of Chang Dao, Fa Ye, and Men Jing. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon is precisely such a traditional Chinese medicine classic, thus being regarded as the "ancestor of medical practitioners". It laid the foundation for the unified adherence of traditional Chinese medicine.
After the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, although traditional Chinese medicine works continued to emerge, academic generations developed, and schools of thought became increasingly diverse, their origins all came from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. But traditional Chinese medicine does not turn unity into singularity, treating the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon as a fixed dogma.
In fact, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon endows traditional Chinese medicine with unity, which is a combination of "following the teachings" and "continuing the teachings". The former starts from following basic theories, norms, and methods; The latter refers to the addition of new perspectives from new practices by individuals when interpreting these basic theories, norms, and methods, leading to the emergence of new works, theories, and schools of thought.
On the one hand, the unified basic theories, norms, and methods established in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon have been manifested in various academic forms throughout history; On the other hand, various forms make the unified system more rich in content, more complete in structure, and more accurate in expression.
The development history of traditional Chinese medicine has proven this point. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhongjing wrote the "Suwen" and "Jiujuan", but did not always follow the old. Instead, he adhered to a complete set of principles of differentiation and treatment, enriching and improving the clinical medical system of the "Huangdi Neijing".
In addition, the four great masters of the Jin and Yuan dynasties all revered the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, but each inherited and developed it from different aspects, elevating its established system to new heights.
The unity of traditional Chinese medicine, where one unfolds into many and many are reduced to one, reflects the principle of "upholding righteousness without conservatism, respecting the past without restoring it.".
Inclusiveness
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, named after the Yellow Emperor, clearly indicates that it possesses the strong inclusive character of Huang Lao's philosophy. The study of Huang Lao originated from Laozi and Zhuangzi, who advocated a tolerant attitude towards different ideas.
Laozi believes that existence, difficulty, length, superiority, inferiority, front and back are mutually reinforcing, and different things have their own reasons for existence; Zhuangzi advocates that the theory of things can be unified, and various ideas are like the skills of a hundred schools of thought, all of which have their own strengths. The Huang Lao School's Song Yin and Yin Wen further proposed the concept of "not being confined", that is, not being limited by a certain ideology.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon inherits this ideological character and encompasses many theories. For example, drawing on the philosophy of Huang Laoxue that essence is the origin of all things in heaven and earth, and using the theory of essence as the theoretical cornerstone to explain human life activities; The organic connection between the Yin Yang theory and the Five Elements theory has constructed a basic academic framework.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon also inherits the value principle of benevolence and love in Confucianism, taking human life as the highest value of all things in heaven and earth. It emphasizes that "heaven and earth are overturned, all things are well prepared, and not more precious than humans", and regards "comparing different things with others" and "comparing objects with others" as important thinking methods. This is clearly an application and development of the "Mobian" theory of "taking by analogy and giving by analogy".
The inclusiveness of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon is also reflected in the interdisciplinary integration. The Great Treatise on the Changes of Qi in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon bluntly states: "Those who possess knowledge of the Tao, such as astronomy, geography, and human affairs, can endure for a long time." The medical teachings in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon have long-lasting vitality, and one important reason is the application of scientific knowledge of astronomy, geography, and human and social knowledge.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon endows traditional Chinese medicine with inclusiveness, which has been maintained and promoted even after the introduction of Western medicine. Therefore, the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine has naturally become a consensus in the field of traditional Chinese medicine.
"Peaceful"
The peaceful nature of Chinese civilization is mainly reflected in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, which emphasizes that "peace" and "harmony" are ideal states for human health.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon believes that human health lies in the harmonious coordination of visceral functions, moderate and moderate expression of emotions, and the ability to adapt to changes in different environments. Its fundamental goal is to achieve a dynamic balance of yin and yang. The occurrence of diseases is due to the imbalance of yin and yang caused by internal and external factors. Therefore, the treatment of diseases is to restore the overall function of losing yin and yang balance to a coordinated and harmonious state.
Before the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, there were mainly the Book of Changes and Laozi that talked about yin and yang. The former governs heaven and earth, that is, Guiyang is lowly and lowly; Laozi emphasizes the importance of protecting the female with gentleness, emphasizing yin over yang. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon further emphasizes the balance of yin and yang, "carefully observing the location of yin and yang and adjusting it to balance the duration.". It can be said that the idea of balancing yin and yang is more representative of the peace of Chinese civilization than the Book of Changes and Laozi.
Of course, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon mainly discusses "peace" and "harmony" from a medical perspective. The "Su Wen · Qi Tong Tian Lun" states: "Harmony between internal and external factors, evil cannot harm", that is, the human body can adapt to the external environment to prevent evil from harming health. The Su Wen Zhi Zhen Yao Da Lun states: "Dispelling one's blood and qi, regulating it, and achieving peace." This means that in treating diseases, it is necessary to bring the blood and qi, which are the internal driving force of human life, to a peaceful state.
On the basis of harmony between humans and the external environment, as well as harmony between the internal blood and qi of the human body, the "Lingshu Benzang" further proposes a more comprehensive standard of "human peace" with "harmony" as the core, that is, "blood harmony leads to the spread of meridians, nourishment of yin and yang", "Wei Qi harmony leads to the separation of flesh and benefits, and skin regulation is soft", "Zhi Yi harmony leads to spiritual specialization, and the soul does not disperse", and "cold and mild lead to the transformation of the six prefectures into valleys, and wind stagnation does not occur". In summary, it can be summarized as harmony between heaven and humanity, harmony between form and spirit, and harmony between qi and blood.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon fully reflects the five prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization, which should be regarded as a necessary part of promoting the "second combination".
Marx wrote at the end of his doctoral thesis "dedication": "Spirit and nature are the divine doctors you trust." Here, "you" refers to Yanni's father. This doctoral thesis opposes the opposition between humans and the natural environment, and emphasizes breaking free from the spiritual constraints of religion. Therefore, this sentence can be broadly understood as the "great miracle doctors" of nature and spirit for humanity.
This is highly consistent with the ideas advocated in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon. The Lingshu Camp Health Association emphasizes that "humans and heaven and earth are in harmony", and requires that human physiological activities be consistent with natural laws to protect life and health. The book "Su Wen: The Theory of Innocence in Ancient Times" states: "Is mental health always safe and healthy?" Here, mental health is further regarded as a barrier to resist diseases.
"Mutual agreement can be organically combined." Inheriting and carrying forward the ideological essence of the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine is an available starting point for doing a good job in the "second combination" of science, physics, chemistry and scholarship.
